In many ways, the acoustic guitar is the ultimate in creative convenience—you can pick it up wherever you are, maybe your couch or your patio, or take it with you somewhere like the beach, and just start strumming—no need to set up any equipment. You don’t have to leave it there, though—under the surface of that elegant simplicity lie a number of important choices that can make your acoustic performance that much more sublime.

We put a list of recommendations together for players who want to give their acoustic guitar and their playing experience some extra love.

Choosing the right pick is crucial. It can make the difference between an amazing playing experience and a mediocre one. It can make the difference between a recording that pops and one that falls flat. There’s a whole world of picks out there that are made from different materials and in different shapes that can have wildly different effects on the way you play and what each note sounds like, and each of those picks is designed with a certain type of player and playing style in mind. Chances are there’s a pick out there that will help you play and sound like an even better version of yourself.

With so much variety, how do you begin your search? Well, we have several packs of picks available to help with just such an endeavor.

The Tortex Picks line just got the perfect pick shape for modern shredders. We borrowed the geometry of our Flow Pick, which was specifically designed to keep up with and complement the advanced technique of today’s most skilled players. To create the Flow Pick, we took a recently rediscovered pick design and used high-precision molding to add an enhanced beveled edge and a low-profile grip to capitalize on the control, precision, and articulation provided by its small profile, wide angle, and sharp tip. It has everything that players need to get to the next note with ease and speed.

We’ve been exploring the possibilities of pick design since day one, always asking what else is possible and what more can be done to provide an improved playing experience. Tortex® Picks embody that pursuit—their bright, crisp attack and grip-enhancing matte surface are the result of a special treatment process painstakingly developed by Jim Dunlop more than 30 years ago. But we continue to ask what more is possible with Tortex Picks.

One way we’ve explored that question is through the expansion of available shapes. That’s because using a different shape can drastically change how a pick feels in your hands and interacts with your guitar strings. Today, Tortex Picks come in 11 different Tortex Pick shapes, more than any of our other pick lines. Here’s what each has to offer.

The bright and timeless color palette of Tortex® Picks is just as important as their feel and tone. For countless players, the color of their favorite Tortex Pick gauge is part of their identity. Jim Dunlop first introduced color-coded gauges at a time when player choice and quality control were limited in the pick business.

For gauges, you were stuck with Light, Medium, and Heavy. Consistency was questionable not just from company to company—it was also questionable within individual companies themselves. Starting with Nylon Picks, Jim doubled the number of gauges available and noted the gauge right on the pick, in millimeters, to prove to players that he was serious about providing them with reliable options. Overnight, Jim established a new standard for player choice and consistency. Today, we take it for granted that a pick you buy today is exactly like the one you bought last month, or last year, but we can thank Jim for setting that expectation.